Myanmar nationalist monks protest Thai crackdown on sect

Myanmar police stand to provide security as Buddhist monks and people holding religious and National flags protest outside the Thailand embassy Friday, Feb.24, 2017, in Yangon, Myanmar. More than a hundred Buddhist monks and nationalists led a prayer and protest at the Thai Embassy Yangon on Friday to condemn the Thai government's ongoing raids on the Dhammakaya Temple in Bangkok, Thailand. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)
(The Associated Press)

Buddhist monks and lay people holding banners, religious and National flags gather to march outside the Thailand Embassy, Friday, Feb. 24, 2017, in Yangon, Myanmar. More than a hundred monks and nationalists lead a prayer in protest at the Thai embassy in the country's commercial city Yangon on Friday to condemn the Thai government's ongoing raids on the Dhammakaya Temple in Bangkok. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)
(The Associated Press)

A Buddhist monk holding a religious flag prays as they protest outside the Thailand Embassy Friday, Feb. 24, 2017, in Yangon, Myanmar. More than a hundred Buddhist monks and nationalists led a prayer and protest at the Thai Embassy Yangon on Friday to condemn the Thai government's ongoing raids on the Dhammakaya Temple in Bangkok, Thailand. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)
(The Associated Press)

YANGON, Myanmar – A Buddhist nationalist group that has been accused of stirring up religious tensions in Myanmar has demonstrated outside Thailand's embassy in Myanmar to protest the Thai government's siege of the temple headquarters of a controversial Buddhist sect.

Friday's protest by more than 100 monks and supporters was organized by the Association of the Protection of Race and Religion — also known as Ma Ba Tha — a group that has been criticized for pushing an anti-Muslim agenda in mostly Buddhist Myanmar.

Thai authorities are seeking to arrest the monk who heads the Dhammakaya sect in Thailand because he allegedly accepted millions of dollars of embezzled money as a donation.

Last year, the Dhammakaya temple hosted one of Ma Ba Tha's top leaders, the monk Wirathu, for a religious event.